CH CH CH Changes!

July is a big month in our family.

It was two years ago this month that I met the boys for the first time.   A few short weeks later, we decided and committed to adopting our sons.

It is six months since the earthquake, and one week later, the boys came home.

It is now also our OFFICIAL ADOPTION DAY!! Yep.  Today is the day that a court made it official-establishing the legal relationship of parent and child.

This July is also big because I am closing my practice and moving my office.

2010, the year of change.  JULY is big.

Just wanted to share.

:-)

Assumptions

Today, I was leaving the grocery store.  It was hot.  Like 110 or so.  I had 2 hot and thirsty kids with me, plus our cart full of groceries.  As I was loading the kids and the groceries into the car, I was approached by a woman.  I saw her out of the corner of my eye, and looked up.  She said "hi.  if you ever need a break, call me.  you're obviously a foster parent.  I run a day care right here in the neighborhood."  As she handed me a card for her day care business.

Who picks a child care provider from a cold contact handing them a biz card in a grocery store parking lot?  I suppose people do.    But. not. me.


So I was relegated to the "obviously a foster mom" category because my kids don't have the same color skin as me.

hmmm.  Maybe if it wasn't scorching hot outside I could have educated her a bit. 

10 weeks

We've been together as a family of four for ten weeks now. Can you believe it? I can't. It's that same strange time warp feeling I've written about before. It feels like the boys have always been here, and yet, it feels like they just got here yesterday. It's amazing.

I said to Bob the other day "We didn't even make these kids ourselves, and yet, they're just like us." It's so awesome to see the way God works. Of course, the boys are individuals with their own temperaments and personalities, and yet, they are part of this family in a way children born to our physical bodies would be too. For example:

One of the boys is the class clown, just like his father.
One of the boys is a picky eater, just like his father and aunt.
One of the boys chews on straws and pens just like his aunt.

One of the boys is controlling when anxious just like his mother.
One of the boys loves cars like his grandfather and father.

The list goes on, but you get the idea. It's very cool, when we follow God's leading how things work out-there is no doubt that God put this family together. I pray that we will listen and follow His promptings always.

People often ask "how are the boys adjusting?" and as far as I can tell, the answer is "very well." They have learned a lot of rules and structure since they've been here. Of course, they forget sometimes and test limits at other times, as all children do, but when I look back to the chaos of those first 2-3 weeks, I see huge strides. They speak and understand English very well. I do see some "processing time" delays from time to time, and I try to pay attention and give them time to figure out what I mean or what I am asking them to do. It can be difficult to discern testing/disobedience from not understanding the request unless I am really paying close attention. One of them also takes things quite literally. For example, I told him to stay in his room and not come out until I came to get him (at naptime). What I meant was, don't goof around, don't get up and play, stay in bed and stay in your room for a little rest. And he obeyed. Even though he had to poop. Really badly, apparently. And so he tried to go in the trash can. Missed and ended up going on the floor. This is what we laughingly refer to as a "code brown" in our house. It's a good thing Bob and I have a sense of humor, or this would be really really bad. LOL.

Oh, and there is the "great cactus incident of 2010".
And Smitty our "pet" scorpion.
And there is the fungal infection that won't quit-just keeps moving around.
And an earthquake in Arizona?!?! So thankful that we missed it so we didn't get to see just how traumatized the boys were by the quake in Haiti.

But those are for another update. Consider them job security for the therapists/counselors of the future.

Thanks for checking in, and please continue praying for our family. Your prayers are what make the difference.

We went to the park yesterday and played for a while. We also walked around the "lake" (pond) and fed the ducks. These are some of our friends...Vanilla Vanessa is hiding behind her big brother Kyle and Ashlyn is in the blue. The cheese-ball is John Baptiste and Steeve is looking all serious.

The mama-mobile.

Child Dedication, March 6, 2010

Some pics...from the last 5 weeks or so.....

These are in reverse chronological order....the oldest ones are at the bottom...the school open house was last night, Feb. 22, and the bottom ones are from January.

Messy Christmas!

Not too long ago, I happened to catch an episode of a show that I don’t watch very often. It’s a sit-com. And in this episode the youngish, rich, good looking, ladies man tries to get the girl who happens to be a single mom of a young baby. The bachelor tries to act mature and that he’s up for fatherhood as he’s pursuing the single mom, and yet, in one scene, the mom can hear him on the baby monitor freaking out over a stinky messy diaper. There’s even a classic moment of the bachelor holding the baby out at arms length due to the smelly-ness of the diaper. All in all it is clear that the bachelor is not ready for instant fatherhood and all the responsibility that goes with it.

Here's part of that episode....



And for some random reason, this television show started me thinking about the Christmas story. Jesus. God with us. Jesus giving up His place in heaven, coming to earth and being born, putting on flesh. A baby. I love babies. But babies are messy. And dirty. And they spit up. And they drool. And let’s not even talk about what happens on the other end.

Shortly after seeing this television show and having these random thoughts about what Jesus coming to earth and being born a baby really means, I came across this post. It is a MUST READ. Carrie writes about a stable near her home and challenges my commercialized / American / cleaned up account of the Christmas story.

And it made me think even more about the sacrifice Jesus made by coming here to the mud and the muck and the mess.

When Jesus heard this, he told them,
"Healthy people don't need a doctor--sick people do.
I have come to call sinners,
not those who think they are already good enough."

Mark 2:17 NLT

I also recently heard a message preached on the Christmas story, with a special focus on the first 17 verses of Matthew which is the lineage of Jesus. He paid particular attention to the five women mentioned in the lineage. Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, Mary. Interesting to note that women were mentioned in the lineage of Jesus. These women have some, um, interesting messes in their lives. Some of the highlights: alcohol abuse, incest, prostitution, adultery. And that's just a few of the messes...there's more.

Wow. Sounds like family dysfunction. Sounds messy. Jesus left His place in heaven, and came into our mess. To save us from our mess. And our mess is our message.

Something to think about. Your mess is your message. My mess is my message. Hmmmm.....

Have yourself a Messy Christmas!

Enjoy it and keep your focus on Christ, the best gift of all, and the real reason for the season.

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them,
and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them.
They were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them.
"Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone!
The Savior--yes, the Messiah, the Lord--
has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David!

Luke 2:9-11 NLT

Our Family

Make a Smilebox slideshow

OOOH the fun we will have!

Giggle Giggle Giggle!

Adoption.

Image by Themis was here via Flickr

Today, I attended a conference all about adoption. The focus was on creating nurturing transitions for newborns. However, the information shared is useful for all age ranges. The keynote speaker is an author and has been working and teaching in the adoption field for decades. There was a lot of good information in her keynote address.

I was moved deeply by the stories shared in a panel discussion format. The panels were made of up adoptive parents, birth parents (including 2 birth fathers) who had placed a child up for adoption and included 3 adoptees-1 adult, 1 teenager and 1 ten year old. The adoptions had taken place between about 5 and 50 years ago. The speakers were of varying ages and ethnicities.

I really learned a lot, and am inspired to think about how I may help people involved in and/or considering adoption. One thing that I noticed is that adoption is a life long process. There are many layers of emotion to the decision and there is no adoption that takes place without issues of grief and loss. There is loss for the birth parents, the adopted person and the adoptive parents. There is loss for the extended family of both sets of parents. There is loss that is felt but "discouraged" and mostly hidden by birth fathers.

The stories and experiences were very different, all across the spectrum from open to semi-open and closed adoptions. Things have shifted in the way unplanned pregnancies and adoptions are "handled" in the past 50 years or so. Mostly for the better, it sounds like. Although, we still have a lot of room for improvement.

It was inspiring, emotional, moving and made me want to do better in my work. It also reinforced the importance of honoring the birth family of my own children that are joining my family via adoption. I was especially moved by the stories of the birth fathers. I had the opportunity to have one of them join our table for lunch after the panel discussion. I was (all at once) impressed, dismayed, saddened, angered, encouraged and inspired by this man's heartfelt sharing of his experience. He had an ability to put words to an incredibly complex and painful experience, and on some small level, I was able to "get it" to maybe grasp just a little of what this had been like for him. I was angered by the way he was treated. I was dismayed by the depth of the pain that he still experiences over this loss that "happened" about 15 years ago. I was moved to tears by the fact that he had tattooed his daughter's name on his body so that he could have a visual reminder, an outward symbol of the daughter he "thinks about every 10 seconds, at least 100 times a day." Wow.

I was impressed by the teenager who sat between the woman who gave birth to her and the woman who adopted her, they were one big happy open adoption family. When the teen was asked how she handled nosy questions and comments from her friends, she responded "they can just get over it." She was stumped by us (the professionals in the audience) wanting to know how she handled this, or if her friends thought her family was weird. She said "this is normal to me, just the way it always has been." She did not think of herself or her family as different. She thought of it only as her family. Wow.

And there were many other stories, painful, inspiring, joyful, ever-changing. People are people and things change/evolve through the years. It sort of made me remember my philosophy that life is good AND bad, it's a big sticky mess at times, terribly painful, incredibly happy and everything in between. It is not all good or all bad. It is both, at the same time. The same appears to be true about adoption.

It also reinforced my belief that time alone is not an indicator of healing. I've always disagreed with the saying that "time heals all wounds." Time alone does not. It takes a bit of faith, a bit of work, a bit of grieving, a bit of being real and admitting when one needs help. And ALL of that takes time. It also takes forgiveness. Of self and of others.

I am thankful for all of these folks-for their willingness to talk about the hard stuff. To share their struggles and their triumphs. To be real. It is so enlightening, and inspires me to do better and to give thanks more freely.

One year ago.....

Image by hoyasmeg via Flickr

I took a step of faith, obeying God and following Him way, way, WAY out of my comfort zone. I don't know if I can convey just how far out of my comfort zone this was....you'll just have to trust me on this one. (One example, I used to get nervous driving to CANADA. seriously. I used to be so fear-based, it blows my mind, looking back.)

I went on my first short term mission trip ever last year at this time.

When our church started planning the mission trips for that year, there were 3 or 4 separate trips planned, to different countries. In the early planning stages, the meetings were held jointly for all the different trips. The various leaders would present information on the country and the projects that the team would be doing while in country. Then we would split up into smaller groups based on the country/team/trip we were most interested in.

I went to the meetings, because I have always been interested in missions.

But I never had the __________________ (time, money, ability, group to go with, faith, etc., you fill in the blank with any excuse you can think of, and I had it) to go.

I would listen to the plans and discussions and think, that'd be neat, but I never did anything about it.

Eventually it came time to commit (*uh-oh, I have commitment issues also) to one trip, one country.

Haiti just "floated to the top" of my interest list. It wasn't like there was a big flashing neon sign or an audible word from God, but more like it just felt right. Haiti got "under my skin" and "into my heart" from the begining.

And so, I went about making plans.

Passport. Check.
Shots. Check.
Time off work. Check.
Fundraising. Check.
Gathering supplies. Check.
Reading all I could about Haiti and Three Angels Children's Relief. Check.
Packing. Check.

I remember the anxiety mixed with excitement.

I remember the full blown fear that tried to turn to panic at times.

I remember thinking of all the good I was going to do. (this one is funny in hindsight)

I remember wondering if I was doing the right thing, for the right reasons.

I remember getting negativity and objections and an overall lack of support from some people. Some of which I expected. Others were a shock.

I remember raising exactly the amount I needed to pay for this trip, down to the dollar, by the deadline/due date.

Even on the day of departure, there were things that came up that in the past, would have made me change my mind and stay home. But somehow, this day, this time was different. When the "things" came up, I became more determined-I viewed the obstacles as confirmation that I was indeed on the right path.

And so, I took a leap of faith.

And I will be forever grateful that I did.

For it is on that first trip that I met the children that God had chosen for our family from the beginning of time.

And I began what I have come to call our "adoption adventure". And what an adventure it has been and will continue to be.

I still don't know when the boys will come home, but God does.

I still can't see how I am going to pay all of the adoption fees, but God has a plan.

I don't know what sort of emotional or behavioral issues the boys are going to have or not have. But God does, and He will equip us to deal with whatever it is that we will need to deal with, in the right time, His perfect timing.


What I CAN see is this:

I now have now is a deeper and closer relationship with God. It is mind-blowing at times.

I am starting to get and really understand what words like: surrender, acceptance, trust, love and faith look and feel like.

I have a stronger and more intense prayer life.

I have a building confidence in God as my provider.

I have many many more opportunities to share with all sorts of people what God has done in my life, how He has adopted me, into His family. How I am not who I was.

I have friends all over the world who share the same passion for people less fortunate than we are. I have friends, oh, do I have a whole new network of friends: for prayer, for support, for venting, for encouraging, for learning, for understanding, for listening, for crying together.

And I have a family. A mother's love. A connection to two children that I did not give birth to.

And even if these children never come home to live with us, I will have gained much. No matter what happens in this world, I have gained much from this "adoption adventure" that started with a simple step of faithful obedience.

And for that, I am grateful.

Moved.
To.
Tears.
Grateful.

On.
My.
Knees.
In.
Humble.
Prayer.
Grateful.


Readers, if God is telling you to do something, please do not delay and miss out on the blessings He wants for you. Obedience is the key. Stepping outside of our comfortable lives is the key. I implore you not to put off obeying God.

God is good.

He loves you.

He's not mad at you.

He wants you back.

No matter what.

I get it now. I finally get it, God.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer. 29:11

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Mathew 6:34

I miss these faces.

I'm glad they are together.

I long for the time when my family is all together.

All together. All of the time.

In the same country.

In the same house.

I can't wait to squeeze these boys again.

I pray for their hearts, health and safety.

I'm grateful for pictures, they do my heart good.

Life. Death. Adoption. Attachment.

Our last Christmas together.

Today is the fourth anniversary of my mom's transition from this life to eternal life.

Four years.

48 months.

208 weeks.

1460 days.

Wow.

That is hard to fathom.

On one hand, it feels like yesterday.

On the other hand, it seems like an eternity ago.

Four years.

Throughout my life, I have lost many things.

Dreams.

Plans.

Hopes.

Relationships.

Pets.

Money.

The "ideal."

Jobs/Careers.

Innocence.

I have also lost other people. Acquaintances. Friends. Children of friends. Relatives. This was not my first experience with death. I attended funerals. I cried for those other people and their families. I was sad. Down. Blue. Grieving. Or so I thought. I guess in my own limited capacity, I was indeed grieving.

When my mom died it was an experience (pain) like no other. Now that I am on this Adoption Adventure and learning more about "attachment" I look back on that time, and can really see exactly what "attachment" is. The only problem is that you can't really see "attachment." It's not something you can hold in your hand and measure. The pain and grief that I experienced when my mom died was different than those earlier losses.

More intense.

More excruciating.

More painful.

And that, my friends, is evidence of "attachment." As complicated as my relationship with my mother was at times, there is absolutely no question that we shared "attachment."

As I watch my friends and relatives and their children interact, I do see glimpses of "attachment." I see the infants cry when their mom puts them down or leaves the room. I see the preschoolers come running to their moms when they fall down or when the other kids aren't being nice and their feelings are hurt. I see kids whisper to their mom because they are too shy to talk in front of me or the group of adults that is gathered around someones kitchen island. I even see "attachment" in the way a big (teenage) brother looks out for one of his younger siblings.

It seems to me that "attachment" is something that is learned. Over time. Parents who give birth to their kids and/or adopt them as an infant have a leg up on fostering "attachment" over those of us adopting older children. This is part a function of time, and part a function of infancy. A new born baby requires a lot of time and attention. And a newborn baby is so small, so precious, so cute, that we (adults) feel warm and fuzzy toward that baby, automatically (in most instances).

If baby cries and a parent meets the need-comforts the child, the child feels warm and fuzzy and "attachment" is created. And then reinforced over and over by the positive interactions and care giving of the parent to the child. This happens millions of times during infancy, and the child learns to trust that his/her needs will be met. As opposed to the child living in a neglectful or abusive situation, on the streets, or in an orphanage setting. In those situations, often, the child cries/has a need and there is not an adult available to meet the need. Or worse, the expressed need is met by abuse or harm. So the child learns that he/she must meet their own needs, and eventually shuts down the feeling of need, because it is just too painful to express a need and have it go unmet. This is a useful survival skill, but it will be a problem in future relationships. It will be a block to true intimacy and connection.

Now for those of us adopting older children, the good news is that this "attachment" can be learned (in my opinion). You can meet the needs of your older adopted child by treating them as you would an infant.

For a season.

Responding to their needs. Promptly.

Figuring out what their different cries mean.

Comforting them.

Feeding them.

Rocking them.

Snuggling/cuddling them.

Paying attention to them.

Being fully present with them.

Trying to figure out what their (mis)behavior is telling you.

Spending time with them.

Helping them build a vocabulary to ask for what they need.

Remember, that even though your child is older, chronologically, they are in a different place (younger) developmentally. Even that child that acts more mature and all grown up. Perhaps, especially that child.

So, when my older kids come home, and you see me "babying" them, don't judge. When we request some time alone, just our immediate family and the new arrivals, don't be upset.

Just know that I am trying to teach them that I am the one they can come to when they need something. Know that I am trying to help them unlearn some stuff they've learned along the way and re-learn what it means to be a child, to be loved, nurtured and taken care of and kept safe.

Eventually, they will get it. At least that is my prayer. Once they "attach" to me, they will be able to "attach" to others and to God. After all, that is the "attachment" that matters most. If they can't do it with me, their mama, how on earth can we expect them to develop healthy relationships with other people and a healthy spiritual condition? That is my job, to point them toward their heavenly Father-who is the only one who can meet all our needs. If I can do that, I have done my job.

I "get" what attachment is now, because I have experienced the loss of it. Or more accurately, the loss of someone to whom I was very attached. It's one of those concepts that you have to experience to "get." And, I have survived the loss. Learned a lot. Grown closer to God, mostly out of necessity. I had no choice but to crawl up into my "Papa's" lap and be comforted. And comforted I was. Amazingly. Indescribably. Beyond words. And my "attachment" to God has grown because I was Held (Natalie Grant song) There's the blessing in disguise-the silver lining in the cloud.

I started to "feel like my self again" around the 3 year mark of my mother's death. The pain stopped being so sharp and, well, painful that I thought I would die. Literally, there were days (months and years, actually) that I thought the pain would kill me.

It.

Was.

Physical.

Like my heart would explode.

It became less and less-and one day it was like a veil was lifted-the fog cleared a little and I felt....different. Not like "my old self" as that person is gone, different, changed now. But I felt different.....I don't really know how else to describe it. Peaceful? Accepting? Accepted? Comforted? Confident that I am loved?

Now, at the four year mark, the acute, sharp physical pain is gone. And in it's place is more of a dull ache. I just plain miss her. I wish she was here to share all this Adoption Adventure stuff with. And to share what God's been doing in my life. Oh, do I wish she were here and oh, do I miss her. But that is selfish. She's hanging out with God and is HEALED. And "at least a thousand times, I've rejoiced for" her (from the song Homesick by Mercy Me). But I no longer feel like I am going to die. And I have a deeper appreciation of the concept of "attachment" and my "attachment" to God has grown. So, that's progress.

May is a bittersweet month for me. The entire month is an up and down roller coaster of emotion. There's lots of highs and lows. Happy and sad things to celebrate/remember during this month. Add to that the things (milestones) going on with our Adoption Adventure (read about Steeve here and Jean Baptiste here)

I have learned to just "go with the flow" most of the time, and not fight it. Fighting it is my natural inclination. I practice a lot of radical acceptance "it is how it is" sort of stuff. I talk to God a lot. When I am able to listen, I receive even more comfort and "peace in the midst of chaos" as the (Sanctus Real) song goes. And my "attachment" to God is strengthened.

God wants YOU to know that He's not mad at you. He wants YOU back. He's waiting with open arms for you to crawl up in His lap and receive comfort and love. No matter where YOU've been or what YOU've done or gone through, God IS NOT MAD AT YOU. And He wants you back. Take it from me. I've experienced it. It's true.

In memory of my mom, this week has 2 featured links up in the side bar-on the left side of the screen. One will take you to the Hospice of Northwest Ohio's page "Myths about Hospice" Go there and learn something. Share it with a friend or family member. Those Hospice folks were a God-send-a true blessing. I wish we had involved them sooner.

The other is a how to guide to breast self exam. Click on the pic that says "feel your boobies" to go to the guide, then do it. Share it with a friend.

God Bless.

Home sweet home!

These 3 precious children are at home!

The first of the next wave of children coming home to their forever families!

Pray for them as they transition home.

God is faithful.

My heart is going to burst....good news in Haitian Adoptions

My heart is going to burst with joy, and in a good way......

:-)

Click on the names to read the good news.

Cara

Kathy

I'm so happy for these families. And I'm aware of a few others that have had movement in their files this week. I think the last time I did a quick count, there are about 8 children in the end stages....almost home to their forever families at the orphanage where the boys are........The two families above account for 5 children.

Praise God.

I'm so excited.

God is faithful.

God is great.

Movement in the Haitian adoption process.

WOOHOO!

Ahhhhhh, My Family. Together.

Thank you God, for putting us together.

Thank you, Paige for this picture.

Thank you, Three Angels for taking care of the children.

The trip.....

People have been asking me about the trip, and for details....

I haven't written about it much, because I don't really know what to say.....


The trip was:

awesome
fun
amazing
God filled
full of family time
full of laughter
exhausting
frustrating
exciting
an adventure
a time of bonding
full of love
frustrating
inspiring (getting to see Noah & Michelle reunite) Check out Michelle's blog for more info on their story.
a time of growth-I'm so amazed at all that God does in my life-I can hardly believe that there is more that He wants to show me, to grow me. Wowsers! My faith has grown so much recently...and I sense that it's just getting started. Exciting and scary at the same time!



To quote Papa B "It's like these boys have ALWAYS been our kids. I feel like I have always known them."

I agree 100%. That is how it has been since the beginning, for me.

I'm so grateful it is that way for Papa too. We had some discussions with other adoptive/foster parents who had "warned" us that it make take the boys some time to warm up to Papa or that he might not feel that instant love for them, until he got to know them. So I guess we were somewhat prepared for this possibility. Every Adoption Story/Adventure is different.

We needn't have worried.
God is so cool, and He's totally put this thing together.
It was instant.
I can't explain it.
There are no words.
There were some tears.
Happy tears.

I also can't explain how it felt to have my whole family together for an entire week. What a blissful, happy, peaceful, RIGHT feeling that was. Not that there is really much peace with 2 active young boys running around, but PEACE is what there was.

The sweetest sound is one of those cute little boy voices (complete with Haitian accent) calling "Mama, look!" or "Mama Lena".

And a close second is the voices of the other children-on the first floor (the older kids) yelling "Mama Steeve" and meaning/referring to me and trying to get my attention when I walked through the room. Ahhhh. sweet sounds. (sigh) What a feeling.

God is great.

All the time.

No matter what.


So there you have, it, the best I can do with words at the moment. :-)

Our first day....

An emotional one, that is for sure.

Memories and feelings come rushing back once we get here. It's hard to explain. I'll try to say more about this another time.

Got to meet Michelle and Colleen.

Got to see old friends-and meet a few new ones.

Got to see Michelle and Noah reunite!

Got to see, touch, hug, kiss, the boys.

Got to introduce the boys to their papa.

Got to watch papa fall in love with the boys.

Got to work work work-on all the supplies.

By the way, Parkway Christian Church-you people ROCK. I went from 1 and a half bags, to SIX full bags, even at the last minute!! I sent out an email with some last minute needs, and 24 hours later, I had oodles of supplies (food stuff mostly) to bring down. And it worked out perfectly-the team had EXACTLY our 2 bags person. You have no idea how important this part of the mission is. There is no other way to get supplies here-so your willingness to help at the last moment really made a difference.

Got to hear first timer's impressions/observations.

Got to hold my little one til he fell asleep.


There's more, but those are the highlights. (sigh)

I think my heart might just burst. :-)

Tonight, I journaled in a journal that was given to me before my first trip. I've used it every time I've come here, usually in the days leading up, always during the trip, and for a few days after.


Tonight, I wrote something that took one page. At the bottom of each page is a verse. Here is the one for today's page. No date, just whenever I get to a new page, I use it. I write first then read the verse.

Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness,

and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

For he satisfieth the longing soul,

and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

Psalm 107:8-9

I am totally praising the Lord today! He does wonderful works. He satisfies my soul and is filling my hungry soul with goodness. I am so amazed/awed/blown away. I can't explain it, other than to say it is SO COOL to see God work....and he works everything out. There really is no need to worry. All we gotta do is pray! It's like having a front row seat at the best drama ever created!

Prayer Requests:

Pray for stamina for the team. There's lots of work to do.

Pray that we all get good sleep and stay healthy.

Pray for a few people that are feeling anxious about a variety of things.

Pray for the people that we come in contact with-that they would see that we are different and that we could impact them and show them that EACH ONE MATTERS.

Please pray that we get a DHS appointment this week, that we are able to get to it and that it goes well/smoothly to get this adoption moving on the Haitian side of things.

Thank you!

A Valentine from Haiti

I just want to send a big THANK YOU to Stacey-who just returned to the states from spending a month at Three Angels.

She sent some pictures and Valentine's from the boys. They arrived on Valentine's Day.

At the moment, I can't share them with you, because the scanner part of my all in one machine is not working. If I figure something out, I'll share. If not, you'll just have to use your imagination.

But they are adorable.


Cute.



Precious.


both the Valentine's and the photos.


I am in love!

(happy sigh)

Thank you for the heart warming gift, Stacey. May you be richly blessed for your good deeds.

Thank you.

Quick Update

We have all but 1 item back from the translator....and we'll have that one soon.

Then, off to Chicago for legalization.....going to use a courier, so that it can be hand delivered and get next day service. Might take 1-2 weeks with mail/shipping time, if all goes well.

Got to get out and copy a few docs, and then compile the entire dossier, and copy it.

It looks like we will have it together in time....please pray that this is so.

Also, please pray for the finances to come together-there is a hefty sum due (legal fees, mostly) when we submit our dossier.

And please pray that we receive our I71h letter/form soon too. It's only been about a week since I mailed the approved home study to USCIS. I have no idea what the turn around time is for something like that. Just praying that it arrives soon so that we can get the Haitian side of this adoption started.

Went to a meeting about the upcoming mission trip-our church is sending a team down soon. Details are coming together. 15 people. 4 returning to Haiti as short term missionaries. 6 teens. 11 people who have not had their life 'wrecked' by Haiti and seen what God is doing there. And hopefully, one set of swept off their feet adoptive parents........ :-) A papa who has not yet had the pleasure of meeting his children face to face. And a mama who would sleep on the floor and stay in Haiti til the boys could come home if they'd let her.

I have NO idea who those last 2 people might be, do you? ;-)

So excited for them all. Giving thanks for all that God has done, is doing and will do.

Pray people. Pray.